


A Lesson Learned

by AnnaOnTheMoon



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Best Friends, Episode Tag, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Jealousy, Romance, TNG Season 6, enterprise d
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 23:11:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15181418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheMoon/pseuds/AnnaOnTheMoon
Summary: A re-write of the Season 6 episode, Lessons.





	A Lesson Learned

**Author's Note:**

> Yep. Tonight's ep on Horror. I hate Nella, so I like to bash her. In fact, if I can bash her, Vash, and Jack all in one fic, that would really be ideal.

Beverly was livid.  She was standing in Ten Forward, waiting for Jean-Luc to bring her a glass of wine, and he was chatting up the young Lieutenant Commander _and he had given her Beverly’s drink_!  Beverly glared at the perfectly coiled hair on Nella’s head and Deanna touched her elbow. 

“Beverly, are you alright?” 

“I’m fine.”  Deanna levelled a look at her friend.  “You’re not.  Remember, empath.  Who are you mad at?” Deanna followed Beverly’s gaze.  “The Captain?”  Beverly nodded.

“He asked me to come over for dinner tonight and to this concert and I thought...well, obviously it wasn’t anything more than him asking me as a friend.  My mistake.”  Beverly crossed her arms over her chest.  “I guess I just thought that after all these years we were _finally_ making progress.” 

“And you think the Captain is interested in...”

“Her name is Lieutenant Commander Nella Daren,”  Will Riker said as he handed Beverly a large glass of red wine and a glass of white to Deanna.

“Thank you Will. At least _someone_ around her still has manners.” 

“Ouch.  Someone is in the doghouse tonight.” 

“As if there was a doghouse for him to be in.  Look, I think I’m going to go back to my quarters.  Tell Jean-Luc...tell the Captain I left if he bothers to ask.”  Beverly took one last sip of her wine before passing the glass to Will.  She stalked out of Ten Forward and headed straight for the turbolift.  A hot bubble bath and a trashy novel sounded just about right tonight.

“Where’s Beverly?” 

“Ah, Captain. She left.  She thought she was being....neglected by her date.”  Jean-Luc shot his first officer a funny look and then realisation dawned on him.  “I asked Beverly out tonight.  And I...oh, I’ve been so foolish.  I completely ignored her to speak with Lieutenant Commander Daren, haven’t I?” 

Deanna slowly nodded. “And you gave Nella Beverly’s drink.” 

“I did?” Jean-Luc’s eyes went wide.  “Please excuse me, Number One, Counsellor.  I have some grovelling to do.”

###

When Beverly didn’t answer he chime, Jean-Luc tucked the bottle of wine under his arm and used his override codes to enter her quarters.  “Beverly?  Are you here?”  He heard splashing and he could only determine that she must be in the bath.  He quickly pulled a glass down and filled it, figuring he could bring her a glass of wine for her bath and apologize. 

He hadn’t meant to ignore her, he was just fascinated by the new head of Stellar Cartography.  She had spoken to him so boldly, the way Beverly always did, and he supposed he found their shared interest of Stellar Cartography and music intriguing.   Of course, he and Beverly had much more in common with each other and had a rich history together and he loved her...he just never told her.  He always thought about Jack, and how he didn’t want to betray his late best friend by declaring his love for his widow.  Even after fifteen years, he still wasn’t sure if he could. 

Jean-Luc gently tapped on the bathroom door before speaking. “Beverly?”

She gasped and sunk a bit lower in the bathtub so the bubbles covered her from the neck down.  “Jean-Luc, what are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?” 

“I....I guess,” Beverly watched Jean-Luc enter her bathroom and she smirked at him.  “You know, you have me at a disadvantage.”

“Oh?”

“I want to slap you right now, but my bath is too comfortable.”  Jean-Luc knelt down by the side of the tub.  “Is this better?”  He held out the glass of wine to her.  “Hmm. You brought me wine. _Finally._ Thank you.”  A bubble covered arm snaked out of the water to accept the glass. She took a sip. “Chateau Picard?” 

“Naturally.” 

“Is this the only reason you’ve interrupted my bubble bath?  To bring me the wine you were supposed to earlier?”  Jean-Luc grimaced.  Beverly wasn’t going to make this easy on him.  “No. Beverly...I owe you an apology.  I asked you to accompany me tonight and then I was rude to you.  I ignored you and I gave your drink to someone else. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” 

“I suppose, but it’ll cost you.” 

“Oh?”

“The rest of this bottle of wine.  It’s exquisite.”  Jean-Luc chuckled. “I think I can do that. Would you like it in the bath?”

“Oh, yes please.”  He grinned. “Be right back.” 

He returned with the bottle and balanced it on the edge of the tub for her.  “I suppose I should be off now.” 

“Don’t you want a glass of wine? That is why you brought it isn’t it?  To share with me?”

“You seem a bit occupied.”  Beverly shook her head. “Go get a glass.” 

Jean-Luc returned with a glass, filled it, and perched on the edge of the bathtub.  “You sure you want me here with you? You don’t have...things to do in the bath?”

“What? Read my trashy novel?  I’m only in the bath because I was mad at you and wanted to relax before I talked to you again.” 

“And are you still mad?” 

“No. Well, maybe.” 

“Will you join me for breakfast in the morning?  Usual time?” 

“The usual time.”  Jean-Luc drained his glass of wine.  “Right.  I think I’ll let you get back to your bath.”  He leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek, but he slipped on the wet floor and landed on top of her in the bath.  Beverly started to laugh and he joined her. “Well, Jean-Luc, if you had told me you wanted to join me in the bath, you could have just asked!” 

Jean-Luc struggled to get back up and his face went red when he grabbed at one of Beverly’s breasts for leverage.  He stood and looked down on her and quickly looked away.  The bubbles had dissipated and he caught a glimpse of Beverly completely naked.

“Like what you see?”  Beverly teased.  “It’s only fair, I’ve seen _you_ naked.”

“Yes, but you’re my doctor.”  Beverly snorted. “Sure, that’s why I’ve seen you naked.” 

“Beverly,  that was a long time ago.” 

“I still recall you, Walker, and Jack all streaking down the hallway of Starfleet Medical just to make me laugh after I lost my first patient.”  Jean-Luc chuckled. “Nearly got thrown in the brig for that one.” 

“Would have been worth it.  Now do you mind?  I’d like to get out of this tub, and you need to get out of that wet uniform!” 

“Of course.”

“If you just hand me my dressing gown, you can have the towel.  Take off your uniform, I’ll find you something to wear.”  Jean-Luc passed Beverly her gown and turned his back while she tied it securely.  “I don’t see why you bothered turning around, Jean-Luc.  You’ve just seen _everything_.”

“Just trying to be polite, dear.”

A few minutes later, Beverly opened the bathroom door and Jean-Luc clapped his hands over his groin.  She laughed.  “I raided some of Wesley’s things he left.  I found a pair of pyjamas.” 

“Beverly, the Captain of the ship cannot walk through the halls in a pair of children’s pyjamas!”

“Wes is twenty-one.”  Jean-Luc grumbled and Beverly smiled before continuing. “And we’ll put your clothing in the clothes refresher and they’ll be good as new in two hours.  You can stay here.  We can finish that bottle of wine.”  She held out her hands for his clothing. “Come on, hand them over.” 

“My comm badge-“  Beverly rolled her eyes. “I’ll take it off and remove your pips so they don’t get damaged. It’s not my first time washing a uniform, you know.  I do mine every night.” 

“Fine.”  He passed the damp parcel of clothing to her and he couldn’t help but notice her shapely leg peeking out of her long dressing gown.  He sighed. It was going to be a long two hours.

Jean-Luc felt ridiculous.  While he and Wesley were approximately the same height, that’s where their similarities ended.  Jean-Luc’s chest was broader and Wesley’s T-shirt clung to him like a second skin and rode up at his hips.  And the shorts!  Jean-Luc wondered why Wesley owned such short shorts, but they were tight around his front and even tighter around his rear.  He was going to have to sit with a pillow on his lap all night. 

When he walked out into the living room, Beverly couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up. “Oh, Jean-Luc, you look ridiculous.”

“What else was I supposed to wear? My uniform is wet!” 

“Maybe someone shouldn’t have fallen in my bath,” Beverly took pity on him. “Come on into my bedroom. I might have a pair of sweatpants.”  Jean-Luc turned around and Beverly got a good look at his rear.  “Oh, and....nice butt.” 

“Why didn’t you offer me sweatpants in the first place?” Beverly smirked. “You little imp! You _knew_ Wesley’s pyjamas wouldn’t fit me!”  Beverly tried to contain her giggles, but with no luck. 

“I did. I’m sorry.” Beverly rooted around in one of the drawers of her dresser and pulled out an old pair of navy sweatpants emblazoned with STARFLEET MEDICAL down the leg and a matching T-shirt.  “Thank you.”

Beverly pulled her nightgown off a hook behind her door. “Guess I should put something more than a robe on, too.”  She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Go change.  I’ll be out in a minute.”

Beverly took an extra few minutes to control her laughter before exiting her bedroom.  Jean-Luc had poured out second glasses of wine and replicated some dessert they had skipped earlier in the evening.  He held out the glass to her. “So...are we even?” 

“I suppose.  I’m still mad at you.”  Jean-Luc reached for her hand and grasped it lightly.  “I know.  I’m sorry.  I let my....”

“libido?” She smirked.

“Well, I was going to say I let my intrigue about a stranger get in my way of my date. My libido is fine, thank you very much.”  Beverly sipped at her wine. “Mm. No doubt thinking about the young Lieutenant Commander.” 

“No.  I like my women old....er. Older.” 

“Nice save.”

Jean-Luc extended his arm and Beverly cuddled against him and sighed.  “Jean-Luc, what are we doing?” 

“I think, my dear Beverly, we are drinking wine, eating chocolate mousse, and having a rather enjoyable evening together.” 

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”  Jean-Luc deeply sighed. “Am I allowed to say...I don’t know?” 

“Yeah.  You can.”

The pair sat in companionable silence until Beverly suddenly jolted up. “Jean-Luc, I smell smoke.”

Jean-Luc glanced around Beverly’s quarters and was shocked to discover sparks coming from the clothes refresher unit.  He grabbed a fire suppressor and sprayed it at the machinery, coating it with thick foam just as the comm unit in Beverly’s quarters went off. 

“ _Worf to Doctor Crusher.”_

“Crusher here.”

 _“Doctor, the fire alarm has gone off in your quarters, is everything alright? Do you need help?”_ Beverly laughed, and Jean-Luc answered back. “No thank you, Mister Worf.  I think I have it under control here.”

_“Captain?”_

“Yes, Mister Worf?”

_“Nothing, Sir.  I will ignore the alarm.”_

“Thank you, Mister Worf.  Picard out.”

Jean-Luc glared at the machinery.  “I suppose my uniform is toast.” 

“Or at the very least, foamy and will require to be washed again.”  Jean-Luc sighed. “Suppose we better call engineering to fix this for you and get rid of the smoke.” 

“Suppose I better find guest quarters for the night.”  Beverly frowned. 

“You can come sleep in my quarters.” 

“Can the Captain of the ship be seen walking through the corridors with the CMO in her nightgown?” 

“He can when he’s wearing her sweatpants because her clothes refresher caught fire with his uniform inside.”  Beverly snorted. “Yeah, because that won’t raise any eyebrows.” 

“We could beam ourselves there.” 

“Nope. Even worse for the scuttlebutt.”  Jean-Luc sighed and reached for her hand.  “Let’s just go.” Jean-Luc picked up his badge. “Picard to Engineering.”

_“La Forge here, Captain.”_

“Mister La Forge, the clothes refresher unit in Doctor Crusher’s quarters has malfunctioned.  Could you come fix it and get someone to come clean up the mess?” 

“ _I can have a team there right away.”_

“No need to rush, but Mister La Forge, your discretion is appreciated when you extract my uniform from the machine.” Geordi raised his eyebrows, but wisely merely replied with _“Of course, Sir.  I’ll tend to it myself.  La Forge out.”_

Beverly and Jean-Luc were laughing over their predicament as they walked down the corridor to the turbolift reeking of smoke.  They were in the lift when Beverly turned to Jean-Luc. “Thank you,”  she said, kissing his cheek sweetly. 

“For?”

“Rescuing me.” 

"My dear, I don't think I could ever imagine you as a damsel in distress."  He leaned over to kiss her cheek in return, but she backed away slightly and put her hand on his chest.

"I think you need to explain that comment, Captain."

"I once told Jack that you were the most capable woman I'd ever met.  That hasn't changed.  Had I not been there, you would have put that fire out perfectly fine."

 "Yes, but then I'd miss the pleasure of your company."   She gave him a saucy wink as the doors opened to admit a new passenger.   Jean-Luc was still staring at her, torn between humour and angst when Lieutenant Nella Daren spoke.

“Rather unusual dress, isn’t it?”  She smirked and pointed to them, wrinkling her nose when she realised they both smelled of smoke. “Perhaps, but we’d had no intention of a fire interrupting our evening.”  Jean-Luc nearly laughed at the look of disappointment that flashed across the woman’s face. The turbolift stopped at the next deck.

“Well, this is our deck. Goodnight, Commander.”  Nella stared, mouth open as the Captain of the _Enterprise_  and the Chief Medical Officer walked arm in arm down the corridor to the Captain’s quarters. She had heard the scuttlebutt about them, everyone had, but she hadn’t thought it was true.  The lift slid shut and all Nella could think was how stupid she had been to think the Captain might have been interested in dating her.

###

Beverly curled her legs underneath her on Jean-Luc’s sofa, nursing the cup of tea he handed her.  “Jean-Luc, if you can get me a blanket and pillow, I’ll make myself comfortable out here.”

“Nonsense.  You’ll sleep in my bed.”

“Jean-Luc, I couldn’t possibly. It’s your bed. The Captain needs to be well-rested.” Jean-Luc sat down next to her on the sofa and patted her leg. “Ah, but so does the Chief Medical Officer.” Beverly sighed.

“Fine. I’ll sleep in your bed on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You sleep in it with me.”

“Beverly _._ ”

“I said sleep! Not...well...if you want to do _that_....”

“ _Beverly!_ ” She turned to face him on the sofa, setting down her tea.  “Jean-Luc.  Don’t you think it’s time we...stopped pretending there isn’t.... _this,_ ” she gestured to the air between them, “this... _thing_ between us.” 

“Beverly, please.”

“Jean-Luc, I want answers.  Why aren’t we together?”  Jean-Luc took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently.  “Jack.”

“Jack?”

“Jack.”  Beverly pulled her hand away.  “Jean-Luc, Jack’s been dead now for over fifteen years.  Whatever stupid loyalty you feel towards him...it needs to stop.  Stop tip toeing around his ghost like he’s going to jump out of the wall and reprimand you if you just admit to me how you feel!”  She stood and began pacing around the room, her dressing gown billowing out behind her. 

“I thought you _did_ know how I felt.  I thought you returned those feelings.” 

“I do...on both counts. But don’t you think we should...actually say how we feel out loud?”  Jean-Luc stood up and grabbed Beverly’s hands to keep her still. Then, he leaned in and lightly touched his lips to hers. 

“Beverly,  I love you.  I have loved you for longer than I care to admit to you right now.”  Beverly grinned against his lips and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and deeply kissed him back.  She broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his. “Jean-Luc,  I love you too.” 

###FIN###


End file.
